Tic toc...

Brent says:

Here it is! The final weekend blog update for the unmarried Brent and Kat! Our last weekend before matrimony was, as you might guess, HECTIC! But we had some fun in there as well~

On Friday I played golf, totally spaced on my friend's BBQ (I feel horrible), and Kat when to the American Idol Tour show at the Sports Arena in San Diego. The main report I got out of it was that she tried really awful pop-tarts, and got to be on Fox6 news in the background as they were doing a human interest story. That, and it was one of the less raucuous shows she had seen...

Saturday, we helped out for a few hours at a church workday - Then we went to Costco for some massive shopping sprees. I saw my next hair-do at Costco - Think I could make it happen?


Feels more and more real all the time! (Click the photo to see what she is holding)


Our ace in the hole in this whole wedding deal is Danielle from After Hours. She is easily the best tuxedo shop employee EVER! She got my tux in early on Saturday, so I went over and tried it on - Not too shabby, eh?



Sunday -

As if there wasn't enough going on, Kat ALSO has been planning a going away party for her friend Ann.


We got together with a bunch of friends in the park to grill-out, kick the soccer ball around, and to reminisce with Ann, who is going back to the UK to work on a post-doc in a lab at Imperial College. Kat did a great job as the co-organizer. They were making scrapbooks, had multiple cakes and desserts, and tons of food. Plus, a great crowd to give Ann a proper sendoff!



Whew! Now we have a couple of days to get braced for the next weekend... Cause guests start arriving on Wednesday, and pretty soon... IT'S ON!!!

Cheers!

Phils, Pad's, Pools, and MORE!

Brent Says: The countdown continues! Less than two weeks until the wedding.

This past weekend, in addition to a whole lot of wedding preparations, we managed to have some fun in there!

First, on Friday, Kat's Graduate Program had their annual summer picnic on Mission Bay. It was SO nice and comfortable. I can only PRAY that the weather will stay this way through our wedding.

Anyhow, their venue was right down on Mission Bay, and very similar to the setup that I am planning to do for the Friday night Padres game that I am planning for the wedding weekend.



Absolute best thing about it, bar none, was that it was catered by Phil's Barbecue. Phil's is a San Diego LEGEND! Even as I write this I'm having a Pavlovian response and saliva is pouring out of my mouth! Its some serious stuff!!!



After the picnic, Kat and I split up - I went to watch the Padres with a couple of buddies from work. Good game - Pads won pretty handily for a change. They were giving away bobbly heads- This is my best attempt to be a bobbly head (within the confines of a still photo... It's harder than you might think!)



On Saturday, Kat and I went to a birthday pool party for a friend's one year old. Cute kids, cute gifts... Shame I didn't take a single halfway decent photo - But you know how these parties work anyways.

On Sunday and Monday Kat went with the girls for a bachelorette weekend in Catalina. I can't report too much, but I did get an early indication of some type of barnight challenge in which they had to draw Butane molecules on guy's butts. SCIENCE GIRLS NIGHT OUT! Watch out, folks, they are not messing around.

More to come on this one... If any pictures come my way - *grin*

Boise ain't half bad

I'm in Boise, ID right now. I've been learning how to facilitate Customer Experience Design workshops, and in the process, learning more about the end-user training needs of LaserJet MFP copiers than I EVER wanted to know!

Fortunately, the people at the workshop are super-nice, and the town is remarkably hip and fun. Yes, I know that Boise does not conjure up images of trendy chicness, but rather, potatoes and possibly Huckleberries, but it does have a certain quaint charm to it.

The downtown is not too busy, and in the midst of an urban revitalization. They have downtown malls and lots of little pubs and restaurants. I had dinner at a Basque place, and am struggling to breathe from the two leg/thighs of duck confit that I ate, even though I KNOW I should have just had one... Sigh -

But they were doing a little gig where they have music in a downtown circle, and lots of folks were out and about. I liked it!



The big news today was that Cheney was in town. Even in BOISE there were protesters and lots of police action And this is like the reddest of the reds!

It just seems like an increasing percentage of the country is in an ever more explosive state of disgust against the current administration. I wonder if this is a bit like what Vietnam and the 60's felt like?

In any case, Boise was the perfect place to watch Ricky Bobby. Judging from the prolific Nascar attire, big belt buckles, and trucks in the parking lot, this theatre more than RESEMBLED the film's not so subtle satire - I was amazed that at least one person walked out of the theatre after the extended liplock between Ali G and Will Ferrell... I heard him muttering on the way out, "It was a good movie up until then, but why WHY did they have to go there?" - Just an interesting little slice of Americana, I guess...

Kat Country

Brent Says: OK, maybe by now you are catching onto a theme for this blog... Brent writes, and all the pictures are of Kathryn... But look at how CUTE she is! Can you blame me?

Anyways, this past weekend was a lot of fun ~ On Sunday Kat was in rare form. We had kids, babies, microcopes, you name it!

At church, my friend Kelly visited with her new son Noah. He's 4 months! Dude has LINEMAN potential all over him! Look for this kid in the NFL in 21 or so years -



After church, we went over to have lunch with our friends, the Matsuo's - Kat's always up for some science lessons with the girls... I think they were looking at something like spaghetti sauce under the microscope.



The Matsuo's are helping us with our music for the wedding, which is in LESS than 3 weeks!!! Man! I remember us saying, "Oh, we've got 6 months, that's so much time." It has FLOWN by!

This past weekend we also got together with Kat's roomate Sara and her boyfriend Shawn. We grilled out and Kat made a nice, light low-fat dessert, that somehow instigated a bit of a food fight... I don't know about these kids...

Wedding Shower at HP

Brent says: My team-members are so cool. They threw a little wedding shower for Kathryn and I at HP on Friday afternoon. Kat came up to HP and got to meet my co-workers, see the opulence of the rented, mile-long cubicle-farm I work in, and enjoy a really nice little wedding shower.


"Ring-wraiths" jumped Kat at the door

About 10 or so from my team in San Diego came by to enjoy some cake, offer sageful marriage advice, and wish us well. Also a first in my experience, some of my team is in Portland, OR and THEY joined as well with cake on THEIR end for the virtual portion of the celebration... It was a little bit creepy to know that people a thousand miles away were eating cake and watching you on TV ~ I felt like REGIS!

Anyways, my team gave us some nice gifts off our registry, and really made us both feel special. It was a really nice way to finish off the day. Just about 3 weeks to go!!!


Mmmmmm... Waffles!

This is gettin' serious

Brent Says: OK, we're not messing around about this wedding thing, anymore - We've gone to that infamous point of no return, now! Private Dance Lessons!!!

Kat, suitin' up

Scary, isn't it? Well, after doing PRETTY well during class these last 8 months, in which we learned Foxtrot, Swing, Cha-Cha, etc., we figured that we might as well go for the gusto and ask our instructor from class to help us figure out something cool for the wedding.

You be the judge at the wedding. I won't tell you exactly what we are doing, but know that our instructor, Sharon, worked us over pretty well!


Sharon and Kat in action (try to imagine me instead of Sharon...)

We had a great time! I know that we need to practice quite a bit, but its pretty cool to see how far we've come in a few months. We've gone from having "two-left feet" to at least "just one club foot"... We're on our way!


Gracefully "glowing" with Sharon after our lesson

Terri in Tucson

Brent says: Like I said in a previous post, we grabbed a last-minute flight on Southwest to stay for 24 hours in Tucson with our dear friend Terri Pipes. For me, it was a celebration of the 1-year anniversary of quitting drinking.

We got into Tucson early Sunday morning. "Early" quickly became the theme du jour.


The weather was amazingly mild. Clear and sunny, with temps in the low 90's, and a light-breeze. That's positively chilly for these desert cats. Anyways, after a little bit of time admiring the desert gardens outside the airport, Terri arrived and we were OFF!


We went to church with Terri at her new church. Afterwards, we had lunch at this place called Tohono Chul. Its a desert botanical gardens, and there is a little restaurant and tea room in it that serves up a MEAN Bacon-Cheese-Guac omelette. I was lovin' it! Special props for the Prickly Pear lemonade, which looks positively otherworldly!







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After lunch, we drove out to Terri and Derek's "Casita" that they built until their big house is finished. They live on 8+ acres at the foot of Mount Lemon. Spectacular does not do justice to this location! It is amazing!

Now, as beautiful as the view is, there has to be a catch, right? Its the drive into the place. Not for the faint of heart!


Terri at the start of a VERY rickety bridge over a wash


Rush-hour traffic jam

At the house, we enjoyed spending quality time with Terri, Derek, her daughter Josie, and her grandson Gavin. We grilled out, talked, reminisced, and generally had a lovely time.



It was really a great weekend! Short, but sweet. And with PLENTY of great memories!

Dance Dance DANCE party

Brent says: On Saturday night, we went to the end-of-class party for the dance class we took in PB for the last 8 weeks with our friends, the Hatchers.

Heidi went with us to the party, which was at the home of our dance instructor. Now, her husband and all the other guys in our church went to the Padres game. I have to admit that I felt pretty sheepish when I was heading out to a dance party instead of a baseball game (as would any other red-blooded American man!)-

BUT! The dance party was REALLY fun!

First -The house was gorgeous. Heidi is an interior designer and did an amazing job on the interiors. The outdoor gardens were immaculate as well. Kat is standing on a 2nd floor balcony and looking out at the gardens that went up the retaining wall on the back of the property. Its like flippin' "The Secret Garden" or something!



Next - Once we, the beginners, built up enough courage to actually join the "pros" on the outdoor dance floor, we had a really good time! Cha-cha, east coast swing, cowboy cha-cha, the ever-lovely night-club hustle (aka, white-man's underbite special, as Billy Crystal would call it), and more!

Last - Sharon, our instructor, was so fun and laid back - They have tons of animals who cruised around throughout the party. They did it pot-luck style, and had TONS of food. And I got to catch the last couple outs of a Pad's victory on TV> Can't be beat!

Here's a couple more pics - Kat with Sharon trying to hold a bird (who wasn't having anything to do with being held by Kat!)-


Kat with a new friend!


Too incredibly cute! We had fun!!!

A year ago tomorrow

Tomorrow is August 6th, 2006. Kat and I are flying to Tucson, AZ to see our dear friend Terri, who recently moved there.



We will be in Tucson for about 24 hours. Yes, I know, it sounds strange, even a bit kooky. But it's a celebration, really, of a good friend and a faithful God who were able to pull me out of the bad place in which I was trapped. This last year has been amazing!

During the last year…

During the last year of our lives, I have seen many incredible things. I saw an iconic southern city be submerged under 15 feet of water, before drying itself off and wooing away my favorite Purdue-alum quarterback from San Diego. I saw my local congressman, a former Top Gun flying ace and House big-wig, beconvicted and sent to prison on charges of massive bribery and corruption. And I saw the most wonderful woman imaginable sit down next to me during a class one Saturday morning. You’ve been reading about the rest of that one in this blog for ever since!

But what is most important for me today is that for the past year, since August 6th, 2005, I have NOT had a single drink.

I resist the urge to self-label myself as anything except a “sinner, saved by grace.” But suffice it to say, I had and have a problem with alcohol. Even as I got more involved in my church and religious study, I knew I had this secret weakness. To me, one drink was too often a quick pass-through to twelve. Inevitably, moral scruples, values, and standards would be discarded like so many empty beer cans after a party.

It’s humiliating to think back on my poor decisions and shameful actions. I can only take solace in the way our munificent God uses all things, even our bad things, to our good.

When I reflect on my times of alcohol-induced, high-risk behavior I am just amazed at the way God, with sovereignty, allowed me to look out far enough into the abyss and understand the peril I had gotten myself in, before drawing me back to safety.

It is such a small thing, really, to order tonic water with lemon instead of a vodka & tonic at the bar. It’s actually less money and calories, too! Most people don’t even recognize the difference when they see you with it.

But I know! I know that alcohol's destructive influence, which held sway over me for too many years, doesn’t any longer. Alcohol is fine for some. Most, even. But for me, I am much better off without.

I am not perfect and life is not without its challenges. But as I reflect back on my state of mind a year ago, sitting in the Denver airport and trying to comprehend the consequences of my actions during the bleary weekend that was, I just feel such a sense of triumph to have come so far from those depths of despair. I called my friend Terri at my lowest low last year. I was alone, upset, frustrated, and full of regret. Tomorrow, I'm going to Tucson to see Terri, with Kat at my side, and coming in such a better state of mind.

God is good! I hope you see Him in your life as I have! I'd love to tell you more~ Give me a call - 541-760-7060

Brent

This week's most bizarre find is

The gas-station restroom urinal-library



Yes, folks, that's a picture of a urinal on the blog. I know I really shouldn't be taking pictures in public restrooms... What with the restraining order still in effect for me after that unfortunate incident with the camera phone and Justin Timberlake at the Hard Rock Cafe in Hollywood...

BUT!

I couldn't help myself. I just like the idea of someone trying to use the urinal in a gas station in Escondido while trying to read a few pages of the condensed version of James Michener's Alaska. OPEN UP IN THERE! PEOPLE ARE WAITIN' OUT HERE!!! Just a few more pages, I'm almost done with the chapter...

Anyways, I found it amusing. Though not as amusing as the look on Justin's face when I...

B

*** Editor's note: All comments relating to Mr. Justin Timberlake, formerly of the band N'Sync, are totally facetious and made without the expressed written consent of said Mr. Timberlake. They should be chuckled at (or not) and not taken for anything more than, "Oh, there Brent goes again writing in his blog after 11 pm... He REALLY shouldn't do that!" *grin*

A week NEARLY without photos

Brent says: OK, so I actually did take 20 or so photos, but it SEEMED like I missed a lot! We had a bunch of cool stuff, but my camera was nowhere to be found! We graduated from our Basic Dance class (party this Saturday, promises to be tons of cool photo ops), I played some golf, etc.

So, apologies, but here are a couple to hopefully stave off the angry legions demanding their weekly photo fix (The legions will need to remember to leave comments if they want to make their presence known...) -

CHANGED LOCATION OF WEDDING PICNIC TO MISSION BAY... IT'S PRETTY

I'm throwing a little picnic and padres game on the Friday before the wedding. I had originally thought about doing the picnic in Balboa park, but every picnic area was totally scary. Dark, sinister, lotta homeless people laying around. I drove all over and got nowhere except for a bit freaked out by this one spiky haired guy who was eyeing me over pretty well .

Finally in despair, I realized, "Oh, yeah... Mission Bay!" - So I drove over, and lo and behold, it was INCREDIBLY beautiful. Just perfect, really! This is where the picnic is going to be:



It will be nice! I don't think we will have enough time to at the picnic, but the sunset there is pretty specatacular as well!



It should be great! Can't hardly wait!!!